International mobile business lifts Telenor profits

Norwegian telecom operator Telenor has posted strong second-quarter earnings in line with expectations, boosted mainly by its international mobile phone activities, an AFP report said.

The report said Telenor reported a 12% rise in net profit to 2.28 billion kroner (287.8 million euros), up from 2.04 billion kroner (256.4 million euros) in the corresponding period a year ago.

With Norway's mobile phone market largely saturated, the group's main growth came from the international mobile telephony division. Telenor, which is 54% owned by the Norwegian state, has operations in a dozen northern and eastern European countries as well as Southeast Asia, the AFP report said.

Telenor and its associated companies registered 6 million new subscribers in the three-month period, bringing their customer base to a total of 96 million subscriptions.

In Norway, the number of subscriptions fell by 13,000, shrinking Telenor's market share from 56% in the previous quarter to 55%.